Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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1623. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures that farmers will be able to avail of to drawdown funding under the €11 million EU conditional aid package; when this scheme will be available for farmers to apply; the sectors which will be eligible; if a national Exchequer top-up will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26393/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Dairy markets at Irish, EU and international level, have been experiencing difficulties for nearly two years, due to a combination of increased global supply, the effects of the Russian ban on the import of EU products and reduced global demand, notably in China regarding diary products. The Commission has responded to these difficulties through the deployment of support measures provided for under the CAP, at first in an ad-hoc manner and then in the form of two wider packages of measures, in September 2015 and March 2016. Ireland have played a key role in shaping these responses. Despite the two packages of measures, the market difficulties continued into the middle of 2016.

The Commission presented a further package of measures at the Agri-Fish Council on 18 July. The main component is a fund of €500 million, which is in turn comprised of two elements.

The first is a €150 million EU-wide measure that will compensate farmers for reducing their milk output in the final quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 (at a rate of 14c/kg). The detailed rules regarding this measure were agreed at EU level on August 25 and the Commission have provided the legal provisions to give effect to this measure in early September 2016. At national level, the scheme is in the process of implementation via cooperatives. The closing date for applications from producers was yesterday, September 15.

The second element of the EU July 2016 package is a €350 million fund that will be allocated to Member States in the form of national envelopes, which Member States can use in accordance with their domestic circumstances. Whilst eligibility criteria will apply, Member States are afforded a large degree of flexibility in terms of the measures they might adopt. Ireland’s allocation from the fund will be €11.09 million. Member States will be required to notify the Commission by 1 November 2016 of the measures to be adopted.

It should be clearly noted that the above represent two distinct and separate policy responses at EU level. Availing of one element of the package at national level is not conditional on participation in the other measure. The Voluntary Supply Management Scheme, details of which were published recently on my Department website and relayed to cooperatives, through whom the scheme will be administered, is an EU wide scheme. The exceptional adjustment aid represents a national envelope, which stipulates various eligibility criteria that can be utilised as a basis for disbursement. Details on how Ireland will utilise this latter aid element have not yet been finalised and these matters are subject to ongoing consideration in consultation with the EU and National stakeholders. Issues such as dealing with liquidity concerns, strengthening co-operation, supporting quality schemes and providing training in financial management all offer possibilities for meaningful and innovative interventions.